Non-Degree

A Gathering of Saints

A group of St. Scholastica alumni and their families gather together to catch up with one another.

As college friends move into the workforce, they scatter across the state and country and inevitably lose contact with one another. It’s one of the great tragedies of graduating.

But a group of 20 or so St. Scholastica alumni are proving that it doesn’t have to be this way.

Every year around the holiday season, the group packs up their families and travels to a fellow group member’s house to share a meal and catch up with one another. Most people come from around the state, but some have come from as far away as North Carolina to reunite with the group.

"We’ve been doing it for 11 years now," said Paul Menard ‘05, Assistant Principal at St. John’s Preparatory School and host of this year’s mini-reunion with his wife Lindsey (Tischer) Menard, '05 (who he met at CSS).

"It started during our sophomore year when we’d go around to each other’s houses and have a progressive dinner. We made such strong bonds in school that we didn’t want to go five years without seeing each other, so we decided to meet up like this every year."

These bonds are not only a product of living together in dorms and houses, but from their submersion in the St. Scholastica community.

"You’re learning to live on your own and grow up together," Paul said. "And when you’re doing that in a small community like St. Scholastica, you’re really creating a second family."

And apparently this family has a lot in common.

"When I look at our group of friends that went to CSS, there are eight of us in managerial or leadership roles at work, while many of the people I went to high school with are just starting their careers," Paul said.

These roles include North American Business Development Manager, Professor of Physiology, Owner and Operator, Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Supervisor, among others.

The difference?

"We had an incredible experience that allowed us to go the extra mile, visit professors outside of class, ask tough questions, research independently, become passionate about what we’re studying and really learn how to learn," Paul said.

"We’re all so driven, yet so balanced. Even though we come from different backgrounds, we all have the same life outlook and desire to be good leaders in our families, communities and jobs. And the common strand through all this is St. Scholastica."